Abkhazia Works to Present Georgia Having Nuclear Weapons

PanARMENIAN.Net - March 31 referring to the Administration of the separatist regime of Abkhazia (Western Georgia) the Agency of National News Russian Internet edition published sensational information that Georgian troops had planned to deliver nuclear strikes upon villages (Merkula, Atara, Jgerda) and troops holding the line in the «eastern front» of «the Republic of Abkhazia» in 1992, Gruzia-Online reports. The Abkhaz party holds that «when seizing the headquarters of the 24th brigade, its operative documents were taken as captured material" and these prove the Georgian party was going to deliver «a mass nuclear strike upon 34 targets» on December 26, 1992, but changed its mind for some reason. Probably, Georgian commanders, who «worked out and approved» this «plan» understood that not only Abkhaz troops may be affected.



«If we cast aside irony and look at it seriously, two sides of the occurrence can be seen. Firstly, trying to prove their devotion to Russia, Abkhaz authorities de facto make efforts to present Georgia as a country, which has nuclear weapons of small capacity. However, they put Russia in an awkward position without noticing it. The material spread indicates that «nuclear ammunition was taken from depots of the former Transcaucasian Military District, when these were robbed by Georgian troops." The person, who composed this absurd, apparently is not aware that nuclear ammunition depots are intensively guarded. Robbing those depots would have caused an international scandal even at that time or maybe direct armed conflict between Russia and Georgia. Thus, the fact itself reveals the author of the document in lying," Gruzia-Online writes.



Meanwhile, according to the Caucasian Knot, Georgia flatly denied the reports. Expert on Military Affairs, editor-in-chief of Arsenal Irakly Aladashvili analytic magazine called it «absurd.» «In soviet times there were tactical nuclear weapons in Georgia, but it was withdrawn in May 1989 by the Russian party,» Aladashvili said. In his words, near Tbilisi «nuclear warheads were kept at Kopitnari military aerodrome, but the ammunition was intensely guarded by special troops of the Soviet Army and was withdrawn in May 1989.»



At that the expert indicated that measures to guard the objects with nuclear weapons were so serious that "one cannot even imagine that something could even be done with weapons kept there." "Besides, to make those weapons effective, special equipment was necessary and the Georgian party did not have it," he said.